Island Arc Exploration Corp. ("Island Arc") is pleased to announce that a planned exploration program consisting of multi-stage Rotary Air Blast (RAB) and Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling has begun on the Nassile Gold Project located in the Republic of Niger, West Africa. RAB drilling is currently testing several areas of anomalous soil and rock geochemistry. RC drilling will begin testing specific targets in the first week of January, 2010. Cassidy Gold Corp., the project operator, is earning up to a 70% interest in Nassile from Island Arc.

The Nassile permit covers 576.7 square kilometres of the Sirba greenstone belt in the lower Proterozoic Birimian volcano-sedimentary series adjacent to the Burkina Faso border 100 kilometres southwest of Niamey, the capital of Niger. The Nassile project lies 35 kilometres south of the Samira Hill gold mine and 200 kilometres southeast of IAMGold's Essakane Project.

During the 2008 and 2009 field programs, Island Arc geologists identified a number of prospects hosting significant gold mineralization along at least 20 kilometres of the regional, northeast-trending Tampena shear zone. These targets include gold-quartz veins, potential sheeted veins, and quartz stockwork vein systems in a variety of host rocks, representing both high-grade and bulk tonnage targets. The planned program of approximately 16 RAB lines and 74 RC holes is aimed at aggressively testing priority gold targets in the Bamperi, Forbemi, Songonduari, Koutougou, and Tirboye areas.

Bamperi Prospect

The northern section of the Bamperi Prospect is marked by several large northeast-trending quartz veins extending over a distance of up to 1.5 kilometres. Significant artisanal diggings expose sections of the veins. Grab sampling from the central portion of one such vein returned several high-grade assays, including 109 g/t and 105 g/t Au (grams per tonne gold). Grab samples 400 metres to the northeast returned assays of 58.2 g/t Au and 30.0 g/t Au, with seven more grading greater than 10 g/t Au. Sulphides including galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite appear related to high gold values in quartz veining.

A prominent chargeability high runs northeast through the Bamperi Prospect and the central part of the Tampena structure. Much of the area, particularly to the south, is covered by alluvial laterite but one trench (No. 17) excavated during the 2008 program intersected 7.55 g/t Au over three metres at the south end of the anomaly. A number of north-south, east-west, and northeast-trending veins have been mapped and sampled. Grab samples from one such vein returned assays of 35.7 g/t Au, 25.1 g/t Au, and 21.8 g/t Au. Another grab sample 500 metres farther northeast assayed 132 g/t Au. RAB drilling is currently testing this mineralized zone.

Forbemi Prospect
Located five kilometres southwest of Bamperi, Forbemi is marked by prominent northeast-trending chargeability highs covered by hard laterite that may mask mineralization at depth. Significantly, the Forbemi area hosts at least two northwest-to-west-trending quartz-sulphide veins. The southern vein is exposed in extensive artisanal workings over a distance of almost 200 metres. Two grab samples from the workings returned assays of 9.20 g/t Au and 6.77 g/t Au.

Songonduari Prospect

Early in 2009, a gold rush of approximately 10,000 local artisanal miners descended on the Songonduari Prospect. Coarse gold was recovered from hard lateritic cover at surface, and from smoky grey, quartz veining at depths of up to 15 metres. Eleven of 60 grab samples returned assays greater than one gram per tonne Au, including 13.1 g/t and 15.5 g/t Au from quartz veins in graphitic sedimentary rocks near the southern limit of the trend. A sample from a sulphide-rich quartz vein, approximately 750 metres to the east, assayed 8.28 g/t Au. RAB and RC drilling will look to define a number of mineralized structures identified in artisanal workings.

Koutougou Area

Veins mapped at Bamperi continue to the northeast into the adjoining Koutougou area. Grab samples collected from quartz veins at Koutougou returned assays from <0.01 g/t Au to 11.8 g/t Au, but to date work in the Koutougou area has been limited to prospecting. Soil and/or termite mound geochemistry will cover projected mineralized trends followed by RAB and RC drilling.

Tirboye Prospect

Regolith mapping at Tirboye, 15 kilometres northeast of Bamperi, has identified several prospective quartz structures in highly sheared metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. These vein structures trend north-easterly and strongly resemble the veins mapped at Bamperi North. Grades from 28 grab samples collected from these quartz vein structures at Tirboye ranged from <0.01 g/t to 20.8 g/t Au with 12 samples returning values >1.0 g/t Au. Drilling will test a number of these large quartz vein structures.

Christopher J. Wild, P.Eng, V.P. Exploration, is Island Arc's Qualified Person for this release. For more information, please visit Island Arc's website at www.islandarcexploration.com.

For additional information, please contact:

James T. Gillis, President & CEO
Telephone: (250) 828-8728

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Island Arc Exploration Corp. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Island Arc Exploration Corp.'s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Island Arc Exploration Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

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